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Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is undergoing dramatic changes. A shift towards economic and social reform, alongside the ambitious development programme ‘Vision 2030’, are all indications of a Saudi Arabia that is become a fundamentally more global and open state.

Recently, Mohammad Bin Salman visited the United Kingdom; an important call-in as part of a series of international visits. The UK and KSA were able to agree upon a landmark ambition for circa £65bn of increased trade between the UK and KSA.

During the visit, CWEIC also ran an event in Guildhall with SAGIA, the Saudi General Investment Authority; ‘The future of Saudi Arabia – Commonwealth Trade’. Attended by senior business leaders and representatives of the Saudi delegation including His Excellency Ibrahim Al Omar, Governor of SAGIA, the informing discussion was centred around the steps Saudi Arabia has actively been taking toward reform and change. These changes have been both domestic and internationally focused, and are perhaps best illustrated by the proposed IPO of Aramco.

As a follow-up to this event, CWEIC is now leading a delegation of Commonwealth leaders to Saudi Arabia. The Commonwealth and Saudi Arabia have a huge amount to offer each other, both in shared experience and as source of potential business partnerships, and the 100-participant strong delegation will consist of Heads of Government, Ministers of Trade, Government officials and senior business leaders from across the Commonwealth.

The visit will be held over 4 days in November 2018, arriving on Sunday 4th November with a days’ conference on Monday 5th, a day to explore the culture and history of Saudi Aribia on Tuesday 6th, leaving Wednesday 7th for private meetings and engagements. Partners in Saudi Arabia will be on hand both before and during the visit to facilitate connections with Saudi business and officials.

The event will be held in partnership with SAGIA, which is responsible for following up and assessing investment performance, alleviating the difficulties encountered by investors, conducting studies and research and drafting executive plans to stimulate local investment in Saudi Arabia.